The Darkness's Son
by Jacob Callahan
Summary: Life was great, happily married to a girl of your dream, living in the greatest city in the world. But when the past calls, you didn't expect that it was a child of your mortal nemesis, raising a child isn't easy but it's his responsibility to be a father, a teacher, and a Dragon.
1. Author's Note

**.**

 **This is an Author's Note section**

 **This will be updated from time to time**

Disclaimer: All right for the characters, the storyline, and the rights of American Dragon: Jake long belong to Disney. I take no profit from it whatsoever

 **3/9/2016** : This is my first publish in a long time and i'm feeling very optimistic about this one, i don't know if it will be good or bad, i just enjoy the pleasure of writing this. To be honest i don't really think that i would finish this story properly or at all. Because i tend to just stop writing midway and do other stuff that i think is better or worth the time, so if i suddenly stop on the way don't be mad. But if you do enjoy it please leave a feedback to let me know how is my terrible writing going

 **3/15/2016: (** Part 1 Finished **)** Well it's been almost a week and i already finished Part 1 (Yay me), i'm sorry it's very short but i just wanted to capture the moment of Jake transforming himself from, eh- well, Jake to a (SPOILER ALERT) single dad. Part 2 might come sometimes next week or two if i'm not too busy. Also regarding the Epilogue being short, i was going to put it on Part 1(II) but i need transition from being dumped to acceptance so i ended it with Rose leaving Jake, i thought that the Epilogue was going to be longer but i just couldn't picture it being longer than 300 words

 **6/5/2016:** **(** Part 2 **(II)** is up **)** i'm sorry for disappearing without any word for 3 months due to personal issue. I might upload next part pretty soon, no promise though.

 **6/26/2016:** Part III will feature Avan as main Character so stick around, i guess. 1,000 views yay we did it! The next one will be posted sometime next month, i hope


	2. Part 1 (I)

**The Darkness's Offspring**

By Jacob C

 **Part I**

Funny how's life always has its way to confuse you. One time you're banishing the great dark lord to a portal for the next thousand years, then the next thing you know you're raising a blood child of his. Life doesn't always go as you planned it to be, you're marrying the girl of your dream only later to find out that you're both sterile. Sometimes stuff like that can get to you

Okay, so you might be wandering how do I ended up being the adoptive father to my own mortal enemy's child? Well it all happened so fast, honestly I barely remembered the detail but it goes something like this

It was a cold December night, I was just came home from the grocery stores to pick up some beer, milk, and a few hot pockets. My apartment was on the third floor of a pretty cheap, but spacious building that I managed to get a pretty good deal on the rent. I moved in with Rose here when she finally got a job in the legal department for a branch of a pretty huge bank, while I was still on duty for the guardian of magical world around here. I also write and draw for a small local newspaper on the short comic section there, which is really surprising to nail that job considering I failed English while I'm in high school

We have considered moving to a better apartment and we've also got some great ones lined up for us to pick from, but I think we're pretty comfortable here and besides we rarely home anyway and the only time we're around were at night to spend the night in and have a dinner together, which we usually just get takeout since Rose is not a really good cook

Life's been great, even though we've been trying to fill that gap between us with small activities together, we've been trying to find a reason for us to stay around the apartment and be a family. But the fact is, we can't, medically speaking at least. Last summer we decided to try and have a child together but for months it resulted in nothing, we got a little bit worried we checked to the doctor, as it turned out neither of us were fertile enough to make that dream possible. We were bummed, obviously, for a few weeks we barely talked to each other but we managed to pull ourselves back together and decided that we are happy of where we are now. As long as I'm with her, my life couldn't get any more better

"Rose I'm home!" I said, as I hung my brown leather jacket. By the television was Rose sitting there reading that philosophical book she's been reading while the TV is on, she loves to do that. She said that she turned on the TV just because she doesn't like to feel lonely when she reads or do anything and it has become a habit to turn on the TV every time we do anything else. "How was your day?" I asked politely, strolling my way into the kitchen which really have nothing in there but a coffee maker, a dishwasher, a toaster, and a very small and almost broken fridge

"Well they're assigning our group to work on this huge project for this quarter and those pile of papers just stressed the living out of me" she sighed, as I handed her a cool beer from the fridge and I joined her _watching_ wheel of fortune. "Well at least they're planning to promote one or two people from our division and I've been told by my supervisor that I was their first call for the candidate, they may or may not call me for an interview next Friday"

"Well I'm glad that you're finally being noticed, you deserve this" I assured as I leaned in for a kiss on her cheek. "So, earlier today the Dragon Council contacted me, they said that I was summoned by to Draco Island tomorrow first thing in the morning so I won't make it for that dinner we reserved, this kind of stuff tend to take a while"

"Aww I was looking forward to it" She said, almost ironically because she didn't really care for romantic gestures at all. The women knows romance just as good as I am at math. "Well we can do it next week or next month or whatever… What is it about anyway that they're suddenly calling you in? Are there like problems there or something?"

"Not that I know of, they've been quiet though, for the past few months. I did suspect something was up, they usually checked in on me then but now they barely even return my reports" I speculated. "The Dragon Council known for being secretive, so until tomorrow my guess is as good as yours"

"I see" She says. "Well, whatever it is I'm sure it's nothing to be concerned of"

She was wrong. You see back then I didn't know what was coming, like seriously, if I had known what was up maybe I wouldn't have come all the way to Draco Island. But the way I see it now, it's great that I didn't know what was coming, as it turns out everything figured itself out

So the next morning I was getting ready for my trip to the mystical Draco Island, Rose was also suiting up for a big meeting that she talked about during dinner but I didn't really pay any attention to. My mind was distracted last night by this whole sudden call in to the council. I mean, maybe they're retiring me and decided to replace me with someone more competent. I mean, I'm almost in my thirties and lately I've been slipping off important missions more times than I'm proud of

"You look tensed, are you okay?" Rose asked as she fixing my tie, ever since the Dark Dragon attempted to dismantle the Dragon Guardian community, things have been formal around the Draco Island and we're required to write reports weekly, wear ties to any event related with the council, and also assigned to missions directly by the Dragon Committee of defense- I agree, the name is pretty stupid. But they're just trying to prevent something like that to happen again, even if that means to conduct an even stricter environment around the Guardian Community than before

"Well that call just got into me, I mean what if that call was them trying to replace me with a new Dragon. I mean, I've been doing this since I was 14 and this is the only thing that I'm good at" I said

"I doubt that, you're the legendary American Dragon, they must be pretty stupid to replace you with someone else" She tried to comfort me

"Yeah, but it was me 10 years ago, and now I'm almost in my thirties and no Dragon have ever passed the 30 mark. They either resigned, replaced, or transitioned into a mentor" I says

"You shouldn't worry too much, no one is replacing you, you'll be the first one to hit the mark" She finished my tie. "Now you just have to relax, I'm sure it's nothing""

"Yeah, maybe you're right" I sighed. "I'm still going to take you to dinner though if this whole thing over before noon"

"Ugh, fine. Just go" Rose said, as she kissed me goodbye. I didn't bring anything but a jacket to cover for the winter, we went the opposite way since she's heading uptown and I'm going to the station where my Grandpa showed me the lift that took me to the other side of the earth. But before that I'm dropping off to Haley apartment just for the heck of it

It wasn't really far from mine but still we hardly ever seen each other, it's either I'm too swamped by Dragon's duty or she's pulling all-nighter to prepare for her lectures. After she graduated summa cum laude at NYU, she immediately offered to teach a class as a junior professor and she took it. Life's been great for her but ever since she pulled me out to talk on that Christmas morning, coming out to me it's really putting a pressure on me not to break the news to anyone since I'm the only one who knew. Who could've seen it coming, I mean she usually use the excuse not to get involved because she just wanted to focus on her career but now that I know I feel kinda sad seeing her not able to tell anyone about who she really is. Well it's not that she's afraid my parents would get angry after she breaks the news, she just doesn't want anyone to see differently of her because of this, because she knew pretty well that I do

"Haley!" I hugged her as soon as she opened the door

"Jake what are you doing here, it's 8 in the morning" She said, still in her pajamas and a cup of coffee in her right hands, I guess there's no class today

"Well I'm just dropping by to say hi" I excused myself in politely and crushed on her couch. "And also have you tell mom and dad about, well you know?"

"No Jake… I told you, now's not the right time" She rolled her eyes. "Look Jake this is my only day off for the past 2 months and I don't want to have this conversation this early"

"Oh yeah, my bad…" Jake said. "How was class?"

"Couldn't have been better"

"Soo… Hypothetically when is the right time to tell them, well you know, I'm your brother and all, I can't see you keeping something this big on your own. Trust me they would be supportive and they won't see any less of you, promise"

"I thought we're not talking about it" She sighed. "Well Jake that's the problem, mom and dad always went out of their way to comfort us if something like this happen. Remember when they said that you have shrimp and lobster because of your allergy, well perhaps you remember the next day where they stuffed you with basically every food on Manhattan to comfort you" She said, joining me on the couch, turning on morning talk show that talks about economy and have intense debate about economy words and pointing fingers. "The last thing I need right now is mom and dad smothering me right now, you alone is enough"

"Ahh, I see… should've told me that before I got off the phone with dad this morning" I joked, as she hit me with a cushion. "I'm kidding!" I stopped to look at the watch. "I gotta go, the council is summoning me and they've taken my dragon power twice and I don't want it to be my third time just because I'm late"

"Tell grandpa I said hi!"

So I make my way to the station, arrived on the lift door where I have to make a few tries before figuring out the correct combination that my grandpa had shown me enough times for me to memorize it. Then the door opened with the same ogre that greeted me every time I use the elevator, man that ogre haven't aged

"Draco island please" I said, well I might have been on enough of this ride to anticipate it but the every time the lift ride goes off I had to spare a few minutes after that to puke and let the dizziness out of my system. Like seriously, why they don't just make anything else that doesn't pull the crap out of your inside every time you ride it

So there I was, well the place is really dull in this time of year because usually dragons only get together here once a year and the rest is if you get summoned there or they call in for an emergency meeting. The people around are just the council and a few magical creatures that serve the Dragon Council or a few young Dragons with no region occupation and with no Dragon Master because no one wanted to take them, so they're here to train until they're old enough to serve the Magical Community

When I arrived I was greeted by a nature nymph, I met her once but for the life of me I can't remember her name. "Jake, the council is waiting for you, I was starting to think you're not coming" She said, obviously recognized me. "Come on, follow me" She eagerly grabbed my hand and pull me through the hall of 10 into the council room where there was the great Dragon Council.

In front of me was the greatest, most powerful Dragon right now. They occupy the highest role in magical world protective service and also regarded as the most important person in the magical community, well once you're crowned there's no way that you're not allowed to leave this island unless there's an important visit or event to attend. That's why I've barely met my grandpa for the past 10 years, the person that I spend my of my teenage years under his teaching, now is either too busy or too tired to talk to me

"Jake Long, I expected the American Dragon to come earlier than this" Council Kukulkhan opened

"I'm sorry, I experienced a delay on the way and I see you guys haven't replaced those lift" I said

"Regardless of your reckless behavior. We're here to discuss a matter of outmost importance. Earlier this year we've been surprised by a turn of events" Council Omina continued. "You remember the day that you banished our mortal enemy to a realm of another dimension ten years ago"

"Of course… it still gives me nightmares" I replied. "Wait, are you saying that he escaped, somehow?"

"No Jake, he's still imprisoned" My grandpa, Lao Shi, said. "While not exactly that too, you see, while his soul and physical form is trapped in another dimension, it turned out his blood wasn't. After we heard a rumor of a baby born belonged to the Dark Dragon, we immediately formed a team of Dragons and paid mercenaries to confirm it and if it's true, retrieve the baby. We are now in possession of perhaps the only creature that can destroy this entire universe"

"Dear god, are you guys serious?" I said in shock. "Then what are you summoning me here for?"

"We need your power to destroy this child" Kulde said. "You might not know this, but the purpose of your grandfather insisted on training is that so you can develop a certain set of power that is specified to defeat the Dark Dragon"

"You are now in possession of the only power that might save our future" Councilor Andam added

"Wait, you're saying that you can't defeat Dark Dragon's newborn child by yourselves?" I joked

"That is correct Jake" My Grandpa said. "The Dark Dragon mastered the art of Dark Magic, which led me to believe that if I can teach you the Light Magic it might just be enough to defeat the Dark Dragon. I tried to do it myself but I'm not in my prime anymore and the day I managed to fend off Dark Dragon was nothing but mere luck"

"Since when did you ever teach me anything about Light Magic" I asked sarcastically

"While you don't realize it, your grandfather specific course of training helped your body develop a shield that defected Dark Dragon's attack and make your fire strong enough to nullify Dark Dragon's" my grandfather said

"Okay, so you tell me now that I have a secret magic that I'm unaware of and you want me to use it so I can kill this baby, I'll say this with all respect, are you guys hearing yourselves?"

"Jake this child might be a threat for the safety of magic world, we need you to do this, immediately"

At this moment, I am faced with an ethical conundrum. This child that Dark Dragon fathered is a threat of the world and he doesn't even know it? Perhaps his father threatened to destroy the humanity, but this baby, he didn't do anything to deserve to be put in this situation. And now it is my fault that he is orphaned and in a verge of death

I've done and said some stupid things for the past years but perhaps the next few sentences was far more than the previous ones. "I'm afraid that I can't do that or let you at all… this child did nothing and you're planning to kill him"

"Jake clear your mind, he's clearly the only possible predecessor of the Dark Dragon and we can't risk the chance of it happening" Kulde insisted

"I'm sorry guys but I'm not using my power. If you're still listening to some senses I have a counter proposal" I said. "I'm willing to raise this child and teach him Dragon magic the way that my grandfather did, I will try my best to lead him to the right path. It might look unlikely but I will do my best to do so"

"And if you imminently failed?"

"I will kill him with my own hand"


	3. Part 1 (II)

**Part I**

"Your case is logical, but American Dragon you must understand the responsibility of raising not just an ordinary child, but a literal spawn of the devil himself" Kulde argued. "Needless to say that your reckless behavior might be a problem, how do you know that you are capable of raising this child?"

"I don't" I paused, images of Rose started to popped up in my head, how happy she was when we were finally decided to have a child together. "I just know that I need to do this… This child doesn't have a parent and it's all because of me, I have no intention in doing the same thing to this kid all merely because of blood relation. He deserves a normal life just like any other kid, if you guys won't provide it then I will, one way or another"

"Jake I think you've made your point clear enough, this case will be decided immediately and we will call you in as soon as we reached an agreement, in the meantime Mrs. Draeca would like to show you the baby" Council Omina said, as she gestured the nature nymph from earlier

"This way Jake…" She led me as the door closed behind me. As I follow her through the empty halls filled with old paintings and statues "You were very brave back there, standing up for what you believed in… But it still puzzles me though, even if you are responsible for banishing the Dark Dragon and leave this child fatherless, it doesn't mean that you're in any way have any obligation towards him, there must be another reason"

Partly, she was right, there was another reason. "Last summer my wife and I have been trying to conceive a baby, we already planned to move into the suburbs, maybe quit my job so I can take care of our kid full time. But then we found out that we're both sterile and it really hit us harder than we let out, I guess it's just my reflexes telling me that this is the only one shot of us being a family as we planned… For some twisted reason, I just feel like this child is what we want and need" I explained

"I'm so sorry to hear that" She said. "I hope this is what you really want Jacob, the room is the last door to the left, I will call you when the council is ready" She left me, the corridor wasn't that wide but it sure is tall, it filled with golden ornaments and wall paintings of Chinese Dragon. I guess I haven't been in this part of the building

I went to the last door on the left and it was unlocked, there was no one there in the room and almost nothing there too but a wooden cradle and a chair next to it. On it wrapped in white blanket was the so called 'cursed child' that they were trying to make me kill. He was half asleep, but I picked him up anyway, his golden hazel eyes blinking lazily, he also has dark black hair that barely covered his head, his tiny arms waved at me responding to my every breath. At this very moment I know that I need to protect this child, like an urge, or more accurately an instinct. No matter what happens I know that I need to always be there for him,

You know that if had known what I was coming to when the Dragon Council summoned me that I'm going to be a dad, I might just run the other direction immediately, but I'm glad that I did that stupid thing, sometimes what you need is to do stupid thing in the right place and the right time, because that day is a start of the most wonderful years of my life, mostly i guess

Yet still, i had this weird feeling towards being a dad, i guess it's normal especially for a guy like me

I sit next on the chair with him on my lap, I figured that since he was kidnapped here and the council probably didn't bother to give him a name but just merely called him 'Dark Dragon's Child' so the moment that I looked at him I just know

"Avan…" I whispered. "You'll be the strongest, smartest, and most handsome dragon of all". I told him about the house, i told him about how he's going to fit in, i told him about how he's going to go to school and meet the girl of his dream someday, i also told him about the nightmares that his father caused, but then i told him that he's not going to be like his father, i won't let that happen. I just kept talking to his uncomprehending look, but somehow i know that he understand

I sat there for a few more minutes before a knock on the door interrupted us, I knew that this means the Dragon Council is ready to decide. I was surprised it didn't take them that long. So I was guided back to the Council room where they're all have steady expression in their faces as if constantly judging me

"American Dragon, we've reached a decision, although initially almost all of us agreed that your proposal is pure nonsense. But someone very persuasive managed to convince us" Council Andam smirked at my grandfather, "however stupid and poorly thought your proposal might be, this might be the best thing to do and if not, the only option we have left. But we still have to monitor this child progress from time to time, to prevent defection and unlikely scenarion like Dark Dragon starting to grow inside his body. But all that is not yours to worry about, your job is to provide this kid with fatherly comfort, starting tomorrow"

"Tomorrow?"

"Your Grandfather insisted that you should start immediately, we'll just have to create legit human legal documents for this to proceed, in the meantime you might want to break the news to your wife Mr. Long" Kulde added

That day I couldn't have been happier, a little bit confused too because all of this happening so fast and all of the sudden I'm a dad. The hard part hasn't even passed yet, this is going to be a tough talk with Rose. I mean, telling her that I'm adopting a kid out of nowhere without her consultation is bad enough, but he's also the most child of the vilest creature on earth, really bad. So after circling the block a few times to gather up my courage, I finally get myself together to turn the knob on that door

There she was again, on the couch cuddling in front of the TV reading the same book yesterday. "Jake you're home, how was your trip?" She said, I hung my coat and just straight sit next to her after she moved her feet from the couch

"We need to talk" I let out, she put down the book. "You might recall the moment we banished the Dark Lord to another dimension, well as it turned out he's not completely imprisoned"

"Oh my god, are you saying that-"

"No, he's still stuck there for another one thousand year, physically at least. But the thing is he had an affair before the whole thing happened in Hong Kong and now the Council is in possession of the Dark Dragon's son"

"So…?"

"I guess we're adopting a baby now, we're gonna be a parent! Yay?!..."

Well after I dropped the hammer almost too soon, I explained everything, from how it all goes down until the point where I come to realization that I can and must be his father. I kept it short and to the point but once I'm done I looked at her face and I couldn't catch any clue of how she feel about it, is she mad, or confused, or happy?

"Jake I-…" She stuttered. "Jake I can't raise a monster" she clearly didn't have the same feeling about it as I do

"But, isn't this what we've always dreamed of. Both of us raising a child and watch them grow old as we do, didn't we talk about it?" I argued

"Yeah but this, not him… I can't, Jake I can't do this" She started sobbing. "Jake tell me that you're joking"

"No I'm not. I mean it, we can do this, together…" I convinced

"No, Jake, we can't…" She calmed herself. "You clearly didn't think this through or take my feeling into account, Jake think about this we can't raise the child of the most evil being in the universe. I can't see him grow to be just like his father"

"You mean me?"

"No, Dark Dragon?"

"So what're we gonna do?" I asked

"You have to return him, cancel all of this, let the council handle him, i don't care"

"No I can't do that" I insisted. "Rose we responsible for this child's life, we took everything from him when we imprisoned Dark Dragon in that temple and trapping him there"

"Jake we were following orders, it wasn't our fault. It wasn't anyone's fault, Jake it's him or the entire humanity, it's our obligation to do so" She argued

"And it is ours to do this too" I pointed out. She took a stand as the books on her lap fallen into the ground

"Jake you should know better, we can't do this. He's just going to grow like Dark Dragon and you're going to take the fall very hard, just like that time you went back from me in that collapsing temple"

"I have the same reason back then and now, I just know that I have to do it and it led to us" I said, standing up too

"But this time, you're both will take the fall and don't want to be there to see it" says Rose

"Then what should we do?" I said

"I don't know…" she sighed, as she wiped some of the tears she let out. "Maybe…it's best that we don't see each other for a while, at least not until you get your head straight..."

"What are you saying?"

"Jake until you cleared your mind, I think we need some time apart" She said "You must realize that this was a huge mistake…"

"No it's not" I denied. "You're just scared that he might turn just like his father, can you at least have faith in us, in me? We can do this, together"

"We can't Jake, you just can't see it"

"WHAT IS IT THEN, WHY WE CAN'T DO THIS?!" I couldn't control myself anymore, i regretted it. She ran off to her room and started packing her stuff. "Rose… I'm-"

"You want to know why we can't?!. Because we're not meant to be parents Jake!" She said in tears, while clumsily stuffing her clothes into her suitcase. "You're a full grown mythical beast shapeshifter whose job keeping peace by enforcing physical confrontation and I'm an ex-huntsclan and I literally kill for a living. What if this kid turned into us huh? Can you stop him, would you stop him? Jake we're not meant to be parents"

As much as I hate to admit it, she did has a point. A son of a huntsgirl and a dragon, a really bad idea. But at that time my head wasn't clear enough to make decision so I did the stupidest thing I've ever done. Letting her go

"Then we're not just meant to be with each other" I said, trying to hold back the tears

She finished packing. She rushed herself bumping into me on his way to the door, but she stopped there, time pauses for a long time between us. The fight that we just had echoed inside our heads, how did we get to this?

"Goodbye Jake, I hope this is what you really wanted" She closed the door, at the same time closing years of history between us. All those sweet saying we said to each other, all those nights we hold each other, I had to say goodbye to that. For what? Some kid I barely knew, it seems that I regretted all of this at the time

I spent the rest of the night lay awake in my bed, crying


	4. Part 1 (Epilogue)

**Part I**

Perhaps carrying a baby on top of the Empire State building wasn't my best idea. But my head was confused and all dysfunctional, the alcohol wasn't helping too

The wind blows really hard up here but it seems to not bother Avan at all, he's still sounded asleep. I wrapped my hand around his tiny body covered in layers of blanket, I just sat there for hours. Thinking about stuff, well mostly of how am I going to get through this. I mean, Rose was my whole life and now knowing that she's not a part of it anymore it staggered me really hard

I barely eat, I barely slept, and I haven't get anything done in two weeks because I had to take care of Avan in doing so I had to stay sober, which is hard in times like this. At the moment, it seems like this whole thing is a big mistake, that moment I felt like my life would've been easier if I had just return the baby to the council to deal with and crawl back to Rose begging her to take me back, but I know that would never happen

Then thoughts of jumping off popped into my head. It would be easy, I'll lit myself on fire and then jump, it would save the trouble we'll go through, I don't have to worry about anything anymore again

It would've been so easy, just let go of everything

What do i have to lose anyway? I lost my right hand grip intentionally while holding Avan with the other, the wind seems eager for me to join them. I slipped my right foot in, then the next thing i know i'm free-falling. My life didn't flash before my eyes and i know exactly why, it wasn't just my time

"Dragon up!" I shifted to Dragon form, heading home with Avan in my embrace

I knew that with this, i'm also leaving behind my past to start a new

Now, i'm a father...


	5. Part 2 (I)

**Part II**

 _'_ _Jake, 15 Years later'_

"First day of high school huh?" I said. "Nervous?"

"No" He replied, which is his way of saying he's terrified. "Tell me again, why can't I just skip high school and go to college?"

"Avan you're a dragon, the last thing you need is to draw attention to yourselves" I told. "These are academics nut job you're going to deal with, I've heard some of their research groups almost got evidence on the existence of magical world and as a dragon you're basically the epicenter of magical anomalies"

"Yeah right" He rolled his eyes. "I'm off" he grabbed his backpack, clumsily putting his lunch box in it

"School is not starting for another half an hour" I looked at my watch

"Yeah but they're opening stands in about fifteen minutes and I don't want to stuck in line to register for the Debate team" He said

"Tell Mr. Spudinski that I said hello" I said

"You mean uncle spud?"

"Yeah, you should not be calling him that around the school though" Well ever since Spud established to his parents that he's not interested in taking care of his family restaurant, he's been taking classes on hard sciences and offered to teach in some university. He turned down those offers to work on our old high school so he can stay close with his parents, after all he's still the same old spud that I knew

Well after Avan left I just sat there for another hour to finish on some reports I need to submit to the Dragon Council and then off to work. Ever since Avan came into my life, the Magical guardian duty seems heavy and I decided to request another Dragon to help me look after this city so that I can focus with Avan and my career. The council immediately granted my request and they sent in family of Dragon from England, I've met them and they're great people, they help around a lot

As for Avan, I decided to teach Avan the way my grandpa did, well without all those gross and nonsensical training that is. I mainly taught him to control his power, to properly fight, even Dragon magic. But the thing is, his power is a lot more destructive and unstable. On the bright side, he's always fast at learning new things that I taught him

One time when we went on a training trip to a camping site on the northern mountains, he almost burnt down a whole forest because he misaimed the lake. It's hard for both of us knowing how much power he possess, it puts a lot burden on his side to be a better dragon. But every time he uses his power, images of Dark Dragon flashes before my eyes, I know that he's in there, breathing Avan's breath. But I just have to ignore it

Each day is as close as another of me telling him the truth about his true origin, but I always bailed at the last second. I knew that I might lose him if I tell him, but he will find out eventually, when the time comes I should be the one breaking the news

What am I going to say though? Hey Avan you're not really my son, your real father is the lord of the Darkness and you may or may not turn out to be evil and if you do I have to kill you. That sounds messed up in my brain alone, this might have to stay secret for as long as it can but I just know that he has to know

So I've planned to tell him at his 16th birthday. Sure crazy right? Breaking something like this on a boy's birthday, but I felt like that day was the one day everyone that cared for him was around to support him, It's easier- for me at least- to tell him around people he and I comfortable around, besides my my grandpa will be there and he's good when it comes to confrontation

My head drifted away for a while there, I looked at my watch and it's almost 9

Last night Rose called saying she wanted to talk to me about something. She just broke up with her longtime boyfriend –after me- and she's really down and vulnerable right now. We didn't really talk that much after our break up, except for the times I had to work overtime and asked her to look after Avan when he was a toddler. We split up on good terms so we tried stay in contact as friends

The past 15 years she has been doing great herself, she pitched a few ideas to the executive and now she's the head of a huge bank's branch in Manhattan. She also dated a lot after we got divorced, while I'm just too busy taking care of Avan and circulating work. It's great to see her achieving what she set out to get

It might not ended happy for us, but at least we both each found happiness on our own. But sometimes human part of my brain wander 'what ifs' like a broken record over and over again, if there were ever a future for us. It's the kind of thought that keeps you wake up at night

I agreed to meet with her in a café not far from my apartment. I initially intended to support her and give her comfort, but partly I'm trying to get her back somehow

So I walked in to the 'Little Robin's' place that she told me, I instantly greeted by a strong smell of bread and chocolates. What is it with girls and chocolates…

I turned my head to a table next to the open window, where Rose sat there glued to a book as always. She's gotten more mature now, well we all do. She has some gray streak in her left side of the head, which she decided to braid it backwards showing her face fully. She's wearing a suit which I assumed she will be off to work after this, but what didn't change about her is her blue ocean eyes, one of the things that made me fall in love with her

"Sorry to make you wait? Avan's first day of high school, things been crazy after declining all those colleges invitation. We didn't talk for almost a week because he's so mad I'm not allowing him to go" I said, excusing myself to a seat in front of her. I browse the menu to distract myself from her blue eyes, it's been weird hanging out just the both of us, usually there's Avan to distract me from her

"You should've let him go Jake, I mean it's not common for someone his age being noticed by famous universities" She closed her book. "And the scholarship, it's not just some money you can turn down"

"I don't like the attention Avan drawing to himself, he's a dragon and you've heard rumors about humans sniffing around the magical world. Beside he only wrote one paper, why did everyone suddenly think he's a genius?"

"It was a theory of quantum computational on a university level, boys at his age just is growing acnes and hitting on girls, while he wrote something that might change the world" She explained. She's always against me holding back Avan, but I also realizes that he's a dragon and not an ordinary one too, I know that I might seem like the bad guy but I did what I have to do

"I think Avan understand why I forbid him to pursue this" I said. "Besides, he's been very fast picking up on Dragon magic, he'll make a great Dragon someday"

"Hmm- now that we're talking about that, did you tell him yet?"

"No I haven't"

"I see…"

"Look, I'll break the news when his 16th birthday comes, by then he will be mature enough to make a sense out of this" I told her

"You planned to tell him last summer on that camping trip, Jake you gotta tell him before he found out himself" She insisted

"Yeah I know, it's just that I always scared of losing him. It's not something to take lightly, it's a part of who he is… and that part is not me, it's Dark Dragon" I resent myself. If he were just my son, this all would be easier, but he's not. I love him with all my life and I will never let anything hurt him, but if-god forbid- he ever turn evil I'll be the one to kill him, it always keeps me up at night. I just kept asking myself if I will ever be strong enough to deliver the killing blow when he really turned evil

"Well if you think it's for the best, then I'm in no place to interfere" She said, ending the conversation in that topic. We went on for another hour talking about our lives, she talked about her job and how frustrating it is while I told her about my job as a big time editor on New York Times. This is the first time we actually talked about our lives, we hung out occasionally but usually she's always with her boyfriend and so do I with some of girls I tried to make things work with but never does

"Jake, can I ask you a question?" She said. "What is this?"

"What'd you mean?" I asked raising an eyebrow

"For years I've been with other guys but one after another eventually I always ended up here, with you" She said. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know" Well the thing is, I do know. Because I love her and no matter how hard it is to see her with another man, I always know that I need to be there for her

"Jake after all those breakups, I always end up here with you, creating an illusion of safety and comfort for me" She says. "I know that the past years been hard for both of us, but I think I know what's holding both of us from moving on"

"What are you saying?"

"It's us Jake, there's no doubt that we both still have feeling for each other. That's why each time we're trying to see other people we're just trying to distract ourselves from each other" She said, showing weakness in her eyes. "If I were to give us a chance one more time, to be us again. Would you take it?"

I know that the answer is yes. This is the moment that I've been dreaming about, us being together again. I know that we both already over the whole thing with Avan and she's grown fond of her for the past years. But why now? Why is it just now that we're deciding to get back together?

I tried to put the pieces together, the more I think about it the more I doubt my answer. The thing is, there was no solution to this, we always have feeling for each other, but there is something between us that we can't ignore just like that. For years I've been dreaming about this moment and I was sure that if she broke the question I will immediately say yes, but why don't I?

I know that I can't have this doubt if I'm going to try this again. I know that if I'm going to make this work with her, there should be no doubt

I don't know what is it yet, the thing that making me doubt this, but I'm convinced that we can't be together right now, at least not yet

"No…" I said. "I don't know if it's us, but it's definitely me, I can't do this. If we were going to try this again, I shouldn't have doubts and so shouldn't you. Rose I love you more than anything in the world, but you must let us go… We can't keep doing this, I have to let you go, and so should you. Maybe in the future when we're ready..."

"I'm… glad to hear it" she said, holding back tears. "I hope you find your happiness Jake"

,


	6. Part 2 (II)

**Part II**

"Dad…" A faint sound echoed. "Dad wake up!"

It was Avan, standing in my bedside pulling the blanket over my body. "Grandpa called, they said they want you on Dragon Island immediately, I think it's important"

I just shrug off, my head was still spinning from the drink I had last night. Now's might the worse time to be summoned to in front of the council but what can I do? So I decided to change as soon as I managed to get myself to stand up, I really haven't had the chance to shower and it's around 3 in the afternoon, must've slept all day

"When did I come home last night?" I asked Avan

"Around 4 in the morning…" He replied, casually offering me a water. "I don't know what happened at work but I think you can get through it dad". I guess he knows I only drink when I'm stressed, well I couldn't really tell him that there's no future with me and Rose anymore, because she was the one who acted closest to a mother to him and I couldn't take that away from him. Well granted that she wasn't really around that much but I just knew he wished me and her to end up together again

"Yeah, it's just some project I don't wanna deal with right now" I lied, as I drank the water Avan brought me. "So any idea why they called me in?"

"I don't know" He said. "Great Grandpa didn't really tell me anything, well I think because he doesn't really like me that much. I think because he thinks I don't wanna talk to him last time I visited Dragon Island". The truth is my Grandpa doesn't really like Avan that much, well even though he vouched for me when I decided to take custody of him in front of the council, He sometimes can't tell the distinction between Avan and his father. Last visit to the Draco Island I told him to learn to live with it however hard it is. He tried, but he can't ignore the fact that his blood carries a monster

"Well he's old, Avan. You shouldn't really think into it that much, He's always grumpy" I assured. "You're coming?"

"I'd rather not…" He replied easy. "I already got my chem teacher to trust me to help him finishing up on next week presentation, he had to make a new one after the school ratify a new curriculum. I'm almost done but I just had to work on some detail"

"Great… 2 days in school and you're already the teacher pet" I mumbled to myself

"I'm right here, I can hear that…" he said. "Just go dad, don't worry about me I'll just order some Chinese from that place you like and if I need anything I'll call Aunt Rose"

That's not a good idea, well not in times like this. "I don't think you wanna disturb Rose this time around. Just call Haley, I'll tell her that you're home alone so she can come over and have you some company"

"Dad I'm not 12 anymore, I can stay home all by myself"

"Yeah but I still need to have someone to keep an eye on you" I said. I just gather my phones and some money, also gold coins in case I need to pay for something on Draco Island. I dropped off to Haley's to get her to watch Avan

She answered as soon as I rang the bell. "Oh Jake, It's you come on in" She invited

"No I'm just dropping by. Are you busy? Because if not i want you to watch Avan for the next day or two, the Council summoned me again" I asked.

"I'm just finishing grading some papers, so yeah I can watch Avan" she replied

"Oh thank you, I owe you one"

"What is it about anyway? Do they like have another kid you might interested adopting?" She asked

"I don't know either, they just called me in with no context"

"They've been really quite, I think they're dealing with something big and need your help"

"Well I hope not, because between juggling work and being a dad I can't afford any trouble in the Magical World" I said. "Just watch Avan would ya, don't let him starve and don't let him go out after 9 PM, call my number if you need me"

"Sure thing Jake…" so that's all

I made my way to the subway where the entrance to the elevator that took me to Draco Island located. I hadn't been called in to Draco Island since I adopted Avan and we just visited there occasionally, over the years the place has gotten crowded with more and more Dragons started appearing

The place has its own Dragon Academy where young Dragons would be send there and be taught amongst hundreds of other Dragons youngling from all around the world. Usually when they turned 12, a Dragon should be sent to the Academy so they can be taught properly. Well only some get to be taught by a master, usually those with gifted powers like Avan. The rest had to be taught under Council supervision for 6 years and they'll be send back to their respective regions

I mean, sure that I'd rather be taught under a master but because recently Dragon population somehow exploded, there's more students than there's masters, only solution? School for Dragons

Well over the years Dragon community have been very large and formal too, there's paperwork and all that stuff just like a human organization. I think these changes are for the better, the more connected we are the stronger we get

Draco Island now has 4 main regions, the biggest was the residential where Council Members, Students, and Dragon Teachers lived. There are ten blocks on the upper level, this is where the Council Executives and Important Dragons lived, the lower level near the beach was just block of Dorm with greek symbols signing each dorm names, just near the Dragon Academy floating on the sea near the coast connected to the land by a giant bridge about 10 meters tall straight to the academy faculty housing

The other region was a training ground used by Dragons to practice combat and flight skills, which also functioned as a park. Then on the other side of the island was the Main Defense Center, where the most skilled Dragons trained and be send to a mission directly by the council, they call them the _Guardians 01_ , the best elite group of Dragon in the world. This place also stored some dangerous artifacts and ancient weapon that might be useful for future combat

The last one was the High Council Palace, where the highest order of the Dragon Community lives. This place is exclusive and now only permitted visitors can enter this area and only on special occasion that this place open for public. This is the heart of the Magical World ruler

The only thing that haven't changed around here is the feeling I got when I'm here. It's like I'm young all over again, simpler happier times. When your biggest worry was your zits growing and who to take to the prom

"Jake?" A voice attracted my ears. "Jake Long, ex-American Dragon. Well I'll be damned, It's you!" a blond guy with tall figure and green leather jacket approached me. I just smile while handshaking him, the thing is I forgot who he is and he seems to notice it. "You forget? It's me, Fred Nerk, Australian Dragon. Well, _ex_ Australian Dragon, now I teach around here"

"Really? You? A teacher?" I said, that sounded a little bit rude than I thought. "I mean, I wouldn't have expected you to settle down I would've thought you'd still be on duty"

"Well If I was that young and ambitious I would, but time changes people Jake. So I met this nice girl, we got married and now we're expecting our first kid" he said, showing a locket with a picture of a brunette. "She's a beauty, well she almost ran off when I told her I was a giant fire breathing lizard, but the right one always comes around right?"

Yeah, the right one always comes around….

"Well I gotta go, the council summoned me and I don't intend to keep them waiting" I excused myself. "It's nice talking to you Fred"

"And I you too" He said

I didn't bother shifted a wing to skip these hundreds flight of stairs, to tell the truth I haven't been using my power much often. I'd like to think that the older you get, you starting to realize that you prefer one form than the other. Maybe like someone like my grandpa likes being in his Dragon form all the time. Which now he required to do so around the council area, it's like a form of dedication to their job. Me, I like being in my human form, I mean being a dragon is great and all but after times it gets old and you realize that there is much else in this world than power. Besides it's a good cardio exercise

A woman approached me on the main gate. "Mr. Long you're late, go to the war council room the meeting is already started"

War Council? Well this is odd, last time they summoned me to the main council room. The women directed me to the meeting, which is on the other side of the palace, just near the hall of ten overlooking the ocean. There's the council gathering on the round table with some Mages and centaurs discussing in distinct noise, the room silenced when I came

"Jacob Long you're late" My grandpa said. "The meeting started half an hour ago"

"I'm sorry gramps, I overslept…" I said. I joined them, I sat between my grandpa and a mage that I've seen in Magical Community Magazine but I couldn't remember for the life of me who's his name is

"I suppose the ex-American Dragon have a reputation of being undisciplined, I wouldn't expect more" A centaur with a British accent mocked. "Nonetheless, we still need the solution to why this group keep insisting pursuing their cause"

"Yes we do Pryos, that's why we required the Jake in this meeting" Council Kulde said. "Now that he's here. Let's hear his opinion on the matter"

"I'm sorry, what're we discussing here?" And with that, my grandpa facepalm echoed throughout the room. "It's just that I have a job, a real job in the human world and a kid that need all of my time and energy. I'm not really current with the whole magical world situation right now"

"That's not an excuse Jake, you're still a dragon" My grandpa said. "Very well then. Here's what we know, there's a movement amongst magical world, an underground movement masterminded by an unknown figure called the 'Red Eye Shadow'. This particular group is not creating mayhem around the magical world, so we can't really detect them directly, but they're turning the Magical Society against the High order of Dragon Guardian and Humanity. Their cause was to free themselves from hiding, they wanted acceptance by the human government and lately we're being overcomed by the number of the supporter of their cause"

"See Jacob, they're functioning very quick and undetectable. We can't really detect or anticipate any action from there, the only way we know what going to happen is when the whole thing is already happening. We've experienced few riots and attacks towards local Dragon Guardian community, some in Europe, few in Asia, and lesser in North America" Council Omina added

"This whole movement is very dangerous to us and if they're trying to expose Magical community to the human world, it would be very easy and irreversible" Kukulkhan added. "What we need is a way to know at which point of the Magical Realm that the riot going to take place and time, prevent it and shut it down permanently. Our best Dragons have been undercover for weeks and they still can't trace the leader of this cause or the nature of this organization"

"Why don't we just catch one of the rioters and interrogate them" I suggested

"You think we haven't tried that?" Says Arthas, the mage next to me. "They're brainwashed, kind of. They know what cause they're fighting for but they can't seemed to remember who invited them to the cause or why they have the urge to rebel. It's like they planted this mind control device without even contacting them. There's no sign of any known mind control-spell, even if it is mind-control it can't be happening at this scale spontaneously The problem is they can't remember a damn thing about the culprit of their movement"

"So we can't trace them by their members" I pointed out

"Precisely" says Omina

"Then we don't have to, if we can't identify the enemy, we're better off chasing after their objective" I said. "What I'm saying is that we let them win for now, while at the same time we wait and see what they're really it's liberation from their hiding from humans, then we need to give it to them, then we can see what's they're made of"

"Are you suggesting to let them expose the Magical World to the humans?" asked Grandpa

"We can't fight pointless cause, which is what you're doing right now. It's obvious that we can't trace a damn thing about the people behind it, but when the time is right, they will show themselves and that's when we move"

"We can't afford to do that, humans are not ready to make contact with us, not for at least another thousand year" Pryos exclaimed

"I believe so, but at this rate whatever we do they will find a way to break from hiding might as well use it to our advantage. We have to wait it out until they're at their most vulnerable and we strike then" I said. "It's the only option that I can offer to this war council"

"He has a point" Says Arthas. "Our Mages have been trying to crack the whole damn thing for months, we can't afford losing any more of our recourses without a result. I'm with Jacob"

The Council exchanged looks at each other, until Kulde broke the ice. "It seems that we have no other plan"

"Though I'd like to point out that we're facing a revelation of magical world to the whole humanity, their reaction will be unpredictable. They could be hostile or kind, we don't know yet and we also don't know what they want to do with them coexisting with humans" added Kukulkhan. "With that in mind, we're now gambling on the safety of magical world"

"It's either that or we lose everything, if these reports are right, they're deadly, fast and effective" I insisted. "Your call"

They gave me a long pause before finally deciding. "Very well then, we accept your proposal and immediately apply it worldwide, is there any objection?" No one speaks up, Kulde continues. "Then it is decided, we will immediately pull back every dragons, mages, guards, every arms that you can get back to this very island where we will wait just as Jake suggested. The evacuation is under the order of highest council of the Dragon community, with that the Magical community will be unprotected and lawless. Begin this operation, spare no detail with anyone outside this room or you will be marked as traitor, am I clear?" everyone nods in agreement

"As for you Jacob, we require your service once more, if you're willing to take it" Kulde offered

"I'll think about it"

,


	7. Part 2 (Epilogue)

**Part II**

It was almost midnight when I managed to catch the last train downtown

I've mentally packed to move to Draco Island. Well, because if what the council said is right then New York City will be one of the first city to feel the effect of the rebels attack. The city is like the epicenter of magical community and the easiest target if you wanted to plot an attack

At first hearing this I was already suspicious who's behind all of this, but knowing how they attack and behave I think this could be one of Dark Dragon's craft. I would very much like to believe that he's still trapped on that ruins in the other dimension but at this point he could easily escaped or broken free

I walked from the station to my apartment since it wasn't that far and there wasn't any taxi around this time. Not too long I arrived on my front door but I can see through the windows that the lights from the living area are still on, maybe Avan forgot to turn it off since I was the one who always did it or maybe he stayed up late trying to do one of his assignments

I walked in to a sight of Avan in the living room doing just what I expected. "What're you doing still up pretty late? You should go to sleep because I need to talk to you first thing in the morning"

"Yeah dad, we need to talk" he turned his head to me. I then realized he wasn't doing one of his homework, it was his adoption papers. "Dad, what are these?". The question petrified me, I was standing there for ten seconds until I exhaled

"It's uhh-…" I stuttered. This wasn't the plan, he shouldn't have found out this way. "Avan listen, I was going to tell you I swear"

"I'm adopted? After all these years you didn't even bother to tell me?" He snapped. "Who was I? did my real parents died? Where did I come from? Because all these stupid documents said that you adopted me when I was an infant. And this time please don't hide anything from me"

"Look Avan, you need to calm down" I seated next to him, handing over a picture of him when he was a toddler that I got on my wallet. "This is you, when you were two months old, I just got you settled on a new apartment… That was two weeks after I adopted you"

"Did my parents die or something" He asked

"Avan I am your parent, I will always be, this doesn't change the fact that I raised you for the past 15 years" I said

"But you didn't even bother to tell me that I'm adopted" He sounded angrily

"I was going to tell you. But I just had to find the right time" I confessed

"This is just too much" he sighed

"We don't have to do this right now" I said

"No, I need to know" He insisted

"Fine" I gave up. "I adopted you from the council… you were in their custody when it all happened, your mother died shortly after giving birth to you and your father, well he…" I trailed off. "After the council gave a permission to adopt you I quickly look for a new place to live and stepped down from my dragon duty to find a real job"

"Why was I in the council's custody in the first place?"

"You were being after long before you were born, because…" I stopped, "Your biological father is the Dark Dragon. Apparently nine months after he disappeared you were born from a normal human named Aeter Bailey. The council retrieved you after your birth but your mother didn't make it, she died in the operating table shortly after you were born"

"Dark Dragon?" I said

"Avan you should know that this doesn't affect you in any way. You just have his blood, not his darkness" I said

"I…" He paused, "I need to sleep on this, I can't think clearly… " he just left to his room in a blink. I knew that this isn't good for us but I swear to god that I didn't meant him to found out this way, but for now it's best if I leave him alone

We could talk first thing In the morning

What else could possibly gone wrong in 8 hours?

.


End file.
